Black men cannot get a lift from Lyft and Uber ride services

(Special from NorthStarNews Today) — Black men who have trouble hailing cabs on the street because of race discrimination face similar problems with Uber and Lyft, two ride services available to people using an app on their smartphones to reserve a car and driver.

The National Bureau of Economic Research, which is based in Cambridge, Mass., tested nearly 1,500 rides on controlled routes in Boston and Seattle to learn whether Lyft and Uber would rectify long-standing discrimination or make it worse. Sixteen anonymous research assistants participated in the study.

A working paper, titled “Racial And Gender Discrimination in Transportation Network Companies,” reported that in Boston, Uber cancelled ride requests for passengers with African-American sounding names.

“We also show that this increase in the rate of cancellations is concentrated among African-American males. Their cancellation rates are three times that of white males,” the report stated.

In Seattle, African Americans requesting rides from Uber waited 29 and 35 percent longer for a ride than whites.

Lyft drivers see both the name and photo of the passenger prior to accepting or declining a request for a ride. Uber drivers see this information only after accepting a request for a ride.

The study noted that Uber and Lyft include African-American drivers and customers in their advertising campaigns.

This article originally published in the November 14, 2016 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.